Why LOTRO music band uniforms make me chuckle

Weatherstock weekend is coming up, with 18 music bands battling it out over on the Landroval server Saturday July 22. Such a huge event can be somewhat unpredictable, with the possibility of delays, server wobbles and even crashes. The only thing you can be reasonably certain of is that the members in every single band performing will wear matching uniforms.

I suppose it is natural that it is so. LOTRO’s cosmetic system is one of its strengths, giving lots of options to create individual outfits for your character. Creating a uniform makes the band stand out from the crowd, keeps things tight-knit and helps build an identity for the players. Hence, LOTRO bands are likely to spend a fair bit of time agonizing over their costumes, before settling on the way they want to look. More often than not, the result is pretty much colourful and outrageous. You can see lots of examples of LOTRO band uniforms in this Weatherstock forum thread.

Personally, I prefer to play without a set band uniform. The hobbit music collective I run, The Brandy Badgers, rarely plays in similar outfits. We have a “badger” costume which we can use every time we want to pretend that we are musical badgers (they don’t really exist, you know). But for the most part, I prefer folks to show up in their everyday outfits.

A rare sighting of Badgers in uniform. Or are they actually real?

People sometimes ask me why (hence, I suppose, this blog). There are many reasons. First of all, it is easier this way. No need to worry if someone forgot to bring their outfit or picked the wrong-coloured version of their tunic. Just come as you are. This matches also well with my roleplayer approach to the game. I mean, unless you play in a marching band or in KISS, chances are that you’d never show up in a set band uniform anyway.

Most importantly, though, band uniforms make me chuckle every time I see them

Why, you might ask? Ah, it is not to be mean, and I generally think it is grand that folks have a fun time in-game. However, I get these flashbacks to other types of bands whenever I see a set uniform. And this brings us over to Scandinavia.

In Norway and (in particular) Sweden, one of the more popular musical styles in rural areas is performed by Dansebands. This is very dance-friendly music (swing, waltzes, classic rock) performed by middle-to-late-aged lads who travel the land in tour buses, singing songs with good-natured, sappy lyrics of love, friendship and the good life in the countryside. As you might suspect, the hipper, urban-oriented part of the population is unlikely to touch a danseband with a 25-foot pole.

And this brings us over to uniforms. More often than not, the musicians in a danseband wear similar outfits. This has lead to some absolutely astonishing band pictures and album covers over the years, not least from the 70s.

So the reason is really simple. Every time I see a LOTRO band uniform, every time I see a LOTRO band poster, I think of the picture below. And that makes me chuckle.

Share me maybe

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13 Responses to Why LOTRO music band uniforms make me chuckle

Pipes etcJuly 18, 2017

Oh my, that photo!

Interesting post though. For Andune, there is an outfit we can give people if needed. But players can wear what they like but we stick to one colour. It’s the opposite for the Roses who change colours every week.

Breakfast Club musicians may wear any garb of their choice as long as it’s sea blue. We always figure the eclectic look goes with our eclectic repertoire! And oh my, those Gert Johnnys may have been hot back in the day, but they make my eyes hurt now

“Band uniform” is a relative term. Picture the London Symphony not having a uniform or dress code. The King’s Men have a dress code – not as a means to match, but as to provide a professional, outward appearance. I think it is a part of the band’s persona, just like the music!

Well, aye, I touch upon the same things briefly in the blog above, and it is not as if I think a dress code or uniform is inherently wrong. It is just that ever since I made the association with the image above (and all the others in the link), I go through a brief bout of hilarity when seeing LOTRO bands all dressed up in their best. The bands I play in included.

While I don’t give a rats rear end about band costumes as such – I don’t mind wearing them, I don’t mind not wearing them – I do understand why some think it’s fun to put a band costume together. Also, if your band has a theme or a concept you follow, the visual identity could play a role. So I’m in a couple of bands where we do wear matching uniforms. Heck, my own Blacksmiths band has a matching costume set, which I use when visiting Landroval (but that was just as much because it was a quick-and-dirty way of dressing up low lvl toons).

For quite a while, I’ve been wanting to create a band named Piewerk. In fact, I’m just waiting for shirt-and-tie cosmetics to be released into the game. :p

Obviously uniforms are part of identity/fun building, so it is not as if I really mind them. I generally prefer playing without a uniform myself; It keeps things simpler, to me it feels more hobbity to just dress in your everydays when playing with others, and the association with those images… But it is not as if it is a dealbreaker. I generally got bigger fish to fry in-game.

We got our fair share of those, too. We call it “Dansktoppen”, originaly a 70s radio program, that came to be the label of the whole genre. Used to be sold as cassette tapes at gas stations and whatnot. Although rarely uniformed, they do look… kitsch, to use a mild term…

Lotho Sackville-Baggins is buying up land and properties all over the Shire. We can’t let that happen! Imagine a Sackville-Baggins owning half the Shire? No telling what kind of ruffians he’d invite to these lands....